A solid debut from a promising author, fit to be read aloud or devoured by young readers.
A little girl rescues a wounded bird, discovering both the joy and responsibility of caring for and letting go her new best friend in this debut chapter book.
Molly, almost 9 years old, lives for Sundays, the day she wakes at dawn and has breakfast in the backyard with the birds. Her mom and dad call her Molly Sunday in tribute. She and her little brother, Fred, or Ferd, as she calls him, who’s 6, live with their veterinarian parents but have no interest in owning any pets. That is, until they both witness a cardinal with a broken wing take a tumble from the top of Ferd’s treehouse in their backyard. From that moment on, the race is on to be the best caretaker of the injured bird, dubbed “Flappy” by Molly. Ferd is quickly intimidated, but Molly finds her niche in watching over Flappy. From adding vitamins to his water to trying to sneak a kiss without being pecked, Molly loves her new job. She becomes so enamored she even causes a rift between her and her best friend when she tries to keep Flappy completely to herself. Molly and Ferd learn many lessons during their short time with Flappy, far beyond just how to care for him. The cardinal teaches the duo how to empathize and how to be better friends. When it’s time to let Flappy go, Molly must learn the true meaning of the old adage, “If you love something, set it free.” Hyman channels both Molly’s and Ferd’s voices with ease; both leap off the page with the realistic highs and lows of boisterous children. The fast tempo and brightness of the prose makes for a quick, joyful read. Lovers of Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House series will delight in this reality-based, exuberant chapter book. The inconsistent appearance of the illustrations may be due to the fact that various friends of the author drew them, but the artwork still adds character to each chapter.
A solid debut from a promising author, fit to be read aloud or devoured by young readers.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4525-8455-3
Page Count: 216
Publisher: BalboaPress
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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